Terror in Spain

Novel set in N Korea wins Pulitzer gong

The prestigious Pulitzer Prize for fiction has been won this year by a novel set in North Korea.

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson tells the tale of a boy who grows up in a state orphanage run by his father but later falls foul of the authorities.

The most prestigious prizes in US journalism, the Pulitzer prizes can bring badly needed attention to newspapers and websites competing for readers in a fragmented media industry, where many are suffering from budget constraints.

The Sun Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, won the prize for public service for its investigation of off-duty police officers who were endangering the lives of citizens.

The newspaper's investigation of officers "who recklessly speed and endanger the lives of citizens" led to disciplinary action "to curtail a deadly hazard", the Pulitzer board said.

Reporters at InsideClimate News, an online site in Brooklyn, New York, won the Pulitzer for national reporting for their "rigorous" reports on the flawed regulation of the nation's oil pipelines.

The prize for international reporting went to David Barboza of The New York Times for his exposure of corruption at high levels of the Chinese government, including secret wealth owned by relatives of the prime minister, the board said noting his reporting was accomplished "in the face of heavy pressure" from Chinese officials.

"Our stance and attitude on this issue is very clear. We believe the relevant New York Times report had ulterior motives," she told reporters in Beijing, without elaborating.

Two reporters for The New York Times, David Barstow and Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab, won the Pulitzer for investigative reporting for their reports on how Wal-Mart used widespread bribery to dominate the market in Mexico.

The staff of The New York Times won the prize for explanatory journalism for its coverage of business practices by Apple and other technology companies that "illustrates the darker side of a changing global economy for workers and consumers", the board said.

John Branch of The New York Times won the Pulitzer for feature writing for his "evocative narrative" about skiers killed in an avalanche.